Can't Turn Sound Back On!

Question

Level 2

303 points

Can't Turn Sound Back On!

I can't turn my sound back on when using internal speakers and don't know what I did to "lock it off."

Everytime I hit the volume keys to turn on/off or to adjust up/down, a small icon pops up with a slash through a circle.

I'm not getting any sound in any applications and already tried restarting my MacBook, resetting PRAM, etc.. Sound only works with headphones, ext. speakers, or anything that can output sound that can be connected to my headphone jack. Oh, and one more thing... why is there a red light beaming out of the headphone jack? I noticed it was a red light when my room was dark one time. Whenever I take the headphones or speaker cord out of the jack, that light shows up. Does this mean something is malfunctioning?

Any help would be most appreciated!

MacBook Pro 15", Mac OS X (10.5.1), 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo; 2GB RAM; 149.05GB

Posted on Feb 7, 2008 12:16 AM

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Answer 1

-Kryten-

Level 4

1,481 points

Feb 7, 2008 12:24 AM in response to iJoshG8

Hi,

Inside the audio output socket on the MacBooks and MacBook Pros there is a small microswitch which is enabled when you insert the headphone jack. Of course, when you remove the jack it's meant to deactivate thus allowing you to use the internal speakers again. I very much suspect that, in your case, it's stuck in the active position which would also explain if you are seeing the red L.E.D. light shining through.

Try inserting and removing the headphone jack a few times. Others have also had success by, carefully, using a paperclip or toothpick.

If you still have no success then your only option would be to take it in to an Apple Store or independent Apple Authorised Service Provider who can then sort it for you.

Kryten

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Answer 2

iJoshG8 Author

Level 2

303 points

Feb 7, 2008 11:50 AM in response to -Kryten-

Useless! Why does Apple even bother to include this type of 'feature'; and it isn't really a feature, it's just there to lock out your internal sound output... *shakes head* Anyway, would it make sense to reinstall the sound card driver in order to sort this?

Oh, and for the toothpick option, what do you mean by that? Is there a button I need to push? Cheers for your help so far, I am just confused why this is even happening... kind of a strange, pointless feature to have on a $2,700 computer...

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